“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. Luke 1:25a NIV
These are Elizabeth’s words as she realizes she is pregnant, just as the Angel Gabriel promised her husband, Zechariah, that she would be.
It was impossible. They were both well along in years, their days of hoping for a child had passed.
And yet, with God all things are possible. With God, hope doesn’t remain hope, it becomes reality. And when her long-dead hope becomes reality, Elizabeth proclaims that the Lord has done this for her.
It’s so simple. And yet so profound – to stop and take the time to say ‘thank you’ for the hopes that God has brought into reality.
So at Graceview this week, we are carrying this phrase with us: “The Lord has done this for me.” Our challenge is to stop each day and find the things for which we can say ‘thank you’ to God. Simple goodnesses that God has brought into our lives.
Will you join us in this practice?
Let’s begin Advent with the recognition that God is the one who turns hope into reality. And let’s be grateful to Him.
Rebekah's World 
Thank you and Christmas Blessings to you-Pastor . The Lord has guided your hand and heart and he has done that for us.
Thanks Johnnie! You’re always such an encouragement to me.
Thank you for keeping this top of mind–a dear niece lost a full term baby this week and we all searching to understand–but all things are possible as you say so we must be patient and seek his safety and believe especially in times of trouble. We have much to be thankful for amidst our tears..
Oh, Nancy, I’m so sorry for your family’s loss. I will keep you all in my prayers. But I appreciate that you understand that thankfulness and tears are not mutually exclusive. Because you’re experiencing one, doesn’t mean you can’t also experience the other. Blessings, my friend.